ST. AUGUSTINE'S CHURCH (COLORED)
BUFFALO, NEW YORK

When the Rev. Serge de Schoulipnikoff was stationed at the cathedral
he assembled the few Catholic colored people in the city and organized
them into a congregation. They were now numerous however nor
financially strong enough to bear the burden of a separate parish,
so they attended services at St. Joseph's Cathedral. After the
departure of Father Schoulipnikoff the bonds of this little colored
flock were dissolved, and they separated to attend different parishes
until the Rev. John D. Biden again united them in a corporate
body in 1913. He bought a large dwelling on Michigan Avenue and
converted it into a chapel for the colored Catholics of Buffalo.
They were attended for some years from the cathedral until 1919
when their numbers warranted the services of a pastor of their
own, and the Rev. Father Butsch was appointed first resident pastor
of St. Augustine's in 1919. Father Butsch was pastor for four
years when he was followed by Fathers Hannigan, Neary and Kelly.
The Rev. J. J. Lally came in 1924 and is kept busy with the increasing
numbers of his flock.